Newsletter

Shawnee County to seek community input on future of Abbott Center

Two organizations presented proposals Thursday

Lazone Grays, of ISBA Inc., helped draft the East Topeka Community Development Corp., Inc.'s proposal to run the Abbott Community Center. He and others on Thursday presented their proposals to the Shawnee County Commission.

The Juan "Poppy" Abbott Community Center, 1112 S.E. 10th, was closed Sept. 1. Two community groups have responded to a letter of interest sent by the county to take over the facility.

A community meeting will be scheduled in the next two weeks to discuss the future of the Juan “Poppy” Abbott Community Center, 1112 S.E. 10th.

The Shawnee County Commission on Thursday heard proposals from the two organizations interested in taking over the building. Before making a decision, commissioners want community input. They directed parks and recreation director John Knight to upload the proposals to the county's website.

Lover Chancler, former a Topeka councilwoman and resident of the area, suggested holding a public meeting to ensure input and show the commission still has "a vested interest" in the community.

"I’m just not sure the Internet will give you what you’re looking for," she said.

Commissioners supported the idea, but Commissioner Shelly Buhler said the county should solicit input from the entire county.

Parks director Randy Luebbe after the meeting indicated the community forum likely would be during the last week of March.

The East Topeka community center has been closed for about six months after the county on Aug. 31 ended its 15-year partnership with Community First. Sending out requests for proposals was an effort to reduce the county's subsidy to the center, which had been $110,000.

Specific details of the proposals weren't yet available, but comments from the presenters and past information paint a clearer picture of what the groups intend for the building. Both intend to provide training for the community, though one would focus on adults and the other on at-risk youths.

The East Topeka Community Development Corp. Inc. would use a county subsidy for the first few years for building maintenance, eventually becoming self-sustaining on the technical training it would offer residents.

"There's training that we’ve been needing for welders, auto mechanics, variety of skills we need to bring over to the east side," said ETCDC president Phillip Owens. "We want to try to bring something new to the community."

Lazone Grays, of ISBA Inc., helped draft the proposal, noting the community center needed to fit the needs of the 21st century.

"I just did not want to see the rug pulled out from that community after such short notice about the community center," Grays said. "We want to establish something the neighborhood and community would be proud of."

The True Foundation School and Learning Center, known for rehabilitating the historic East Junior High School, 1210 E. 8th St., would buy the building outright, said the Rev. Lee Sweet. Knight previously said the organization offered to buy the building for $50,000.

The foundation would use the facility to provide training and academic assistance to at-risk children, specifically those from preschool through eighth or ninth grades, Sweet said.

"We want to separate the older kids from younger kids," he said. " We want to mentor them and try to get them more into the community, where they can achieve their lifetime goals."

The community center also would serve as a tornado shelter — Sweet said many residences in the area don't have basements — and as a relief distribution center in the event of a disaster.